Mohamed Ali (footballer)

Mohamed Ali (born 13 July 1992) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Goa in the Indian Super League. He was born in Caranzalem, Goa. Ali has won promotion from the I-League 2nd Division twice in two consecutive seasons with both Dempo and NEROCA respectively.

For other people named Mohammad Ali, see Mohammad Ali (disambiguation).
Mohamed Ali
Personal information
Full name Mohamed Ali
Date of birth (1992-07-13) 13 July 1992
Place of birth Caranzalem, Goa, India
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Goa
Number 37
Youth career
Goa United
Dempo
Sporting Goa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Santa Cruz Club of Cavelossim
Laxmi Prasad
2015–2017 Dempo
2017 NEROCA
2017–present Goa 27 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 04:18, 15 December 2018 (UTC)

Career

Early life

Ali was born in Caranzalem, Goa, and raised in poverty by his single mother, Dilshad Bi Ali.[1] As a child, Ali grew an affinity towards football and would play whenever he could. His brother, Niyazuddin, saw Ali's ability to play football unnerving and wanted Mohamed to focus on studies, rather than football.[1] The principal at his school, Don Bosco, and his physical education teacher, Francis Raposo, however, encouraged Ali to play and develop his game.[1]

Ali started playing organized football for Goa United's under-18 side before moving to professional side Dempo. He played for the side during the Taca Goa Under-20 league.[1] In search of establishing his professional career, and wanting first team minutes, Ali soon moved on to Sporting Goa. However, after finding game time hard to earn, Ali moved again to Goa Professional League side Santa Cruz Club of Cavelossim.[1] He then spend a season with another Goa Professional League club, Laxmi Prasad, before signing back with Dempo.[1]

Dempo

Before the 2015–16 Goa Professional League, it was announced that Ali had returned to Dempo.[2] He also played for the side during their 2015–16 I-League 2nd Division campaign.[3] In May 2016, after forming a partnership at center-back with Chika Wali, Ali helped Dempo earn promotion back to the I-League after being relegated the previous season.[4]

After the season ended, Ali was selected to be part of the Goa football team that would participate in the Santosh Trophy.[5] Ali helped guide the Goa team to an unbeaten run through the group stages but couldn't prevent Goa from being defeated during extra-time against Services in the semi-finals. Ali conceded an own goal as extra-time was finishing while trying to clear a shot from Arjun Tudu as Goa lost 1–0.[6]

NEROCA

On 9 March 2017, it was announced that Ali would joined I-League 2nd Division side NEROCA before the final round of the 2016–17 season.[7] Once again, like he did the previous season with Dempo, Ali helped guide NEROCA to promotion to the I-League.[8]

Goa

On 23 July 2017, Ali was selected in the 10th round of the 2017–18 ISL Players Draft by Goa for the 2017–18 Indian Super League season.[9] Before the draft, Ali had already spoken to Goa, along with other Indian Super League sides NorthEast United, Jamshedpur, and Mumbai City, but was not surprised he was selected by Goa.[10] "I always imagined being part of the team and hoped of getting the opportunity to prove myself. I had always wished to play for my home club and I’m sure that every player in Goa has that dream to get there. I found myself lucky to be picked by the Gaurs," he said after being selected.[10]

Ali made his professional debut for Goa during their first match of the season against Chennaiyin on 19 November 2017. He started the match as Goa won 3–2.[11] A week later, after starting in Goa's defeat against Mumbai City, Ali started and helped Goa earn a 4–3 victory over Bengaluru on 30 November.[12] After the match he was awarded the Emerging Player of the Match for his performance at centerback.[13]

On 24 January 2018, Ali signed a new contract with the Goa keeping him at the club until 2020.[14]

Career statistics
As of 30 November 2017[15]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Goa 2017–18 ISL30————30
Career total 30000030

Honours

Club
FC Goa
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References
  1. Lopes, Flavio (27 October 2017). "Braving poverty, Ali realises football dream". Times of India. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  2. "Dempo Sports Club building team with local talent". Herald Goa. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  3. "2nd Division League: Dempo SC Start On A Winning Note". The Indian League. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  4. Fernandes, Mindo (30 May 2016). "Dempo SC give football fever viral twist in Goa". Navhind Times. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  5. "Santosh Trophy Squads". KolkataFootball.
  6. Parasar, Swapnaneel. "Services Stun Goa, Maharashtra Beat Tamil Nadu To Enter Finals". Goal.com. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  7. "Mohamed Ali joins Neroca". Neroca F.C. (Facebook).
  8. Desai, Shail (24 May 2017). "How Neroca FC fought blockades in Manipur to break into the top division of the I-League". The Field Scroll. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  9. "ISL 2017 player draft, as it happened: ATK, Jamshedpur FC and Pune strike big". The Field. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. "FC Goa Newbies Look Toward ISL Challenge". Herald Goa. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  11. "Chennaiyin 2-3 Goa". Soccerway.
  12. "Goa 4-3 Bengaluru". Soccerway.
  13. "Corominas hat-trick helps Goa beat Bengaluru in seven-goal thriller". Indian Super League. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  14. "FC Goa announce Brandon and Ali contract extensions". FC Goa Official Website. Archived from the original on 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
  15. Mohamed Ali at Soccerway
  16. "FC Goa's long wait for a trophy ends". thehindu.com. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
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